Ironing machine



M. H. JOHNSON IRONING MACHINE Filed April es. 1922- 4 sheets-sheetl 1 Oct. 2'?l 1925. 4 1,558,548

M. H. JoHqlsoN Inormxs incarna' Filed Aprii 2s', 1922 4 sheets-sheet 2 M. H. JOHNSON Oce. 27,1925,

IRONING MACHINE Filed April 2e. 1922 4 sheets-sheet 3 fOct. 27, 1925 M. H. JOHNSON IRONING MACHINE Filed April 28, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Oct. 27, 1925.

maremma a. J'oaasoa, on 'environnaw Yoan f y feminization Vfu-ea 'Appa las,

'Be iit `known that I, MONTGOMERY H. JonirsoN, :a icitizeniot the Unit-ed fStttesarand a `resident of Utica., in `the county f Oneida and 'State rof New York., have in-Y vented certain new and useful Improvements in `Ironing Machines; and do here` by ideclarethat `the iollowing is a tull, :olea-n, and Veimct descniption thereot, which will enable'others skilled in the art to which it asppertains t0 make `and use the same, reference being had to the `accompanying draw ings, and to Vthe reference numerals `marked thereon, which 4form part Iof *this specifica# tion. i I

My present invention relates to an iron# ing machine. l

The purpose ofnay 4i-rwenti'on is to provide an ironing machine of new` and improved Iconstructifon and `one which Lis :simple in Yconstmotion iland yoperation 'and well adapted Tfor domestic use.

A `further purpose is lto vprovide a machine of the class 'described which lis moderate in f cost, easily operated and controlled `by one not an expert handling machinery and further to provide a machine which 'is readily adapted .iforiuse inthe various ways required when ironing many y different articles of clothing, bedding or'linen.V Another object of my invention `is to provide an ironing machine wherein the extent: of the stroke `of the iron can be readily. varied even during operation ofthe machine in order to readily adapt the machine for operation upon different articles.

Another object is to provide a machine of the class described with a particularly advantageous arrangement for supporting the traveling head carrying the iron, andl controlling or Varying the extent of the stroke of the iron; a still further purpose is to provide new means for supporting the iron from the traveling head so that the tirol-rgy may be readily moved to any position orosswise of the board or to a positioned 'of the board and still further to have said cross` wise adjustment or rvaria-tion made auto-` matically. l Further purposes and advantages of my invention will appear from the speciiication and claims herein. A

Fig. 1 is a View .of a machine 'embodying my invention said View being mostly in front elevation but with the s111jQOtlii`ng iron and the lazy tongs omitted iand, with poi tions of Ithe ironing board 'cutaway inorde'r tofshow the mechanism more 'cleanly'fn 'fthe parts `being fsofadjusted as to lgi've the travel Kp lng head its maximummoveinent; 60

- Fig. 2 is fa top 'vew "of the anaeiiinefon 'a somewhat larger fsoale, itheill'andle lPiland trigger therebelow being removed. fr

Figggisa vertical sectional 'viewon line See-'3 fofffdig. =1 fof the back lframe l and 4meo'llifanism: :with ifain end view Iof `the right -lhand end traine. and inoningboard, 'with the 'near side oftstrap'20"1lroken away. v j

Fiigdiis a Vient7 similar toFig. il but vith the parts Vi/adjusted to jobtain al "reduced amonnt of reeiproeating movement by "the traveling head and v'consequently by *the smoothing iron. H f l Referring to the drawings in amore par*- ticular description yit 'will fbeseen that the maohine'coniprises la back trarne 10 having a longxupright 11 at its leithaind en'dfand an endfrainel ait its .Tight hand end wherebythe ironinlgfboard 13 andthe res'tof the maolrine hereinafter ,describedaire held or supported in proper position.

Thefironing board llis supported at soine little `filiistiince rfront of the back freine l() fand n.prightlil and parte attached thereto,4 bysaid vronini'g board having its right v'hand end attached to or rested up'on the forwardportion 'of ftheend frame 12, andY `by having -its` other For `left hand `end supportedby a leglli;l y l l At theleft end of the back 'frame 10 and in line with the 'npr-ight l1 there isniounted a-pair ofguides 115 and 16 respectively, preferably in ftheforxn of roundrods ortubes heldin place by top, intermediate 'and `bot-- tom brackets 17, 18 and 19 respeetively, the ends of said brackets encireling said guides and having the Icentral portion orstfrap securelyiastened 'to thebaciir frame 10 `and lower part of the upright 11. y l lletween the upper ends of the guides `15 and i6 "to the @einer `of-a strong strap 2o asat 21 is'pivotally hungtie upprend the 'rocker arm 22. The `lower end of said' t arm is pivotal'ly secured to the center of a horizontal c'losb 23 fat lOn pivots 10.5.5. 25 and 526 respeotively ektending through said erosebarat each v`side off 'the pivot 24 and in line 4therevsfith are pivo,ta`lly finnt-v ed the central pointe of 'two parallel sul@ pmt/ine at and, restanten which W2 are twice the length o'f the rocker arm. The lower ends of said parallel supporting bars 27 and 28 are bent backwardly and pivotally mounted in spaced and horizontal relation to the saddle29 the opposite sides of which have vertically extending holes therethrough, whereby said saddle is slidingly mounted upon the vertical guides 15 and 1G between the intermediate and lower brackets 18 and 19.

The upper ends of said parallel supporting bars 27'and 28 carry in horizontal position the traveling head 30 as by the upper ends of said bars 27 and 28, being pivotally mounted upon pins 31 and 32respectively, extending through two pairs of spaced ears 33 and 34 depending from-,bottom of the head 30.

It will now be seen that a swinging motion given the rocker arm22 from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 to the right will carry the traveling head 30 to the right horizontally and in the same horizontal plane and insubstantially a straight line by reason of the saddle 29 sliding downwardly upon the vertical guides 15 and 1G until the parallel rods A27 and 28 come to vertical position and after that .by the said saddle again sliding upwardly but with the parallel rods 27 and 28 and the rocker arm 22 to the right of the said vertical guides 15 and 16` until the parts come to the posi-v tion shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. It will be obvious also that reversing therocker arm 22 willA again carry the traveling head 30 to the left and if. the motion is continued far enough,to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 and that at all times the traveling head 30 will be'mantained horizontal and in the same horizontal plane.

As means for swinging the rockerarm 22 and thereby giving the said reciprocating movement to the traveling head 30 there is provided upon the rocker arm 22 a crosshead 35 slidingly mounted upon said rocker arm and having projecting to the front as seen 1n Fig.` 1 a pin 37 upon which is pivotally mounted the left hand end of connecting rod 38, the other end of which is mounted upon pin 39 projecting from'the wheel or dlsc 40, mountedl upon apart of the` frame 10 and suitably driven by means, the detailed description of 4which is not necessary.

It will'now be seen thatrotation of the wheel 40 through connecting rod 38 (and assuming the crosshead 35 to be for the time fixed from sliding movement upon the rocker arm 22) will move said rocker arm a given constant amount determined by thedistance of the pin 39 from the center of vdisc 40. In order however, to vary at will the extent of movement of the traveling head 30 and thereby the smoothing iron upon the board I provide the following means for sliding the crosshead 35 the desired amount upon the rocker arm 22 and holding sai-d crosshead at the desired point along said rocker arm while still allowing free swinging motion of said crosshead 35 and rocker arm 22. A crosshead 41 is slidingly mounted upon the upper halves of the guides 15 and 16 as by said crosshead having in its opposite Sides vertically extending apertures slidingly fitting said guides. Upon the top of said crosshead 41 there is provided an upwardly extending ear 42 from which there projects forwardly the pin 43 upon which is pivotally mounted the upper end of the governing arm 44, the lower or free end-oi' which is pivotally connected to the crosshead 35 as at 45. The crosshead 41 is securedl to the bottom of a stiff upright bar 46 slidingly mounted at the front of ythe upright 11. The upper end of bar 4G is provided with a forwardly projecting handle 47 for manual operation of the crosshead 41 up or down upon the guides. TheK crosshead is held at desired position by means of a trigger 48 mounted in the bar 46 just below the handle 47, engaging any one of a series of suitable holes or notches provided in the upright 11'. .The forwardly projecting liandle 49 of the trigger 48 provides means for releasingl the trigger and allowing the crosshead 41 kto move. A spring 50 between the trigger handle 49 and the main handle 47 yieldingly hold the trigger 48 in the notch where it had been placed, the upper part of said spring being housed in a socket extending up into said main handle from below and said main handle being recessed below to receive said trigger handle 49.

As the parts are seen in Fig. 1 the crosshead 41 is raised to its upper position bringing the pin 43 at the upper end of the governing arm 44 immediately back of thc pin 21 upon which is mounted the upper end of the rocker arm 22. This position gives the maximum amount of reciprocating movement to the traveling head 30. As the crosshead 41 is lowered the governing arm 44 thereby carries the crosshead 35 further down upon the rocker arm 22. iVhile the crosshead 35 is still given the same extent of swinging motion from the connecting rod 38, the lower end of said rocker arm 22 will be given a swinging motion ot less extent than before as appears in Fig. 4 and this limitationof movement will in turn be imposed upon the parallel bars 27 and 28 and the traveling head 30 as will appear from Fig. 4. It will be particularly noticed that the means here provided for varying the extent of travel of the head 30 are readily maj nipulated during operation of the machine and that the machine will not have to be stopped in order to adjust the stroke of the iron to the desired extent of travel.

Towards one end say the right hand end of lll? the traveling head 30 upon `fixed pin 66 is pivotally 'mounted theinner end ot' arm G7 of a lazy-tongdeviceS. Tlreiouter ends ot the arms 'ot this devicefare attached tolthebar 69 which 'is secured to the smoothing ironlZOi. In `order that this lazy-tongs device 68 may support the iron 70 adjustably` (over the board, that iste any/position crosswise otith'e board or even to a point: ofi' of the board preferably t'o the rea-r of the board, tlre arm 51 opposite the 'arm (ihas its inner end, that is the` end oppositek pin 66, provided with -a downwardly extending linger 52, which can slide through slot 53 extending longitudinally ot the lett hand halt' ot' thehead 30. The end oit the outer arm 54@ olf` the lazytongs 4device connected to the `smoothing'iron bar 69 is pivotally `mounted upon a fixed pin 55, while the outer-end ot the opposite arm 56 has a donaiturned linger 57 which slides in slot S extending longitudinally of the left hand portion of the smoothing iron bar 69. lt will now be seen that by the operator grasping the handle 59 of the smoothing iron the lazy-tongs 68 may be extended or contracted to any extent 'within its range of motion so that the iron will travel longitudinally of the ironing board 18 in any position crossw-ise of the board For it' `desired ott of the board, preferably to the rear, so that clothes may be `placed "on the board without interference from the iron.y TheV operator by her hand upon the handle-59 of the iron will guide the iron in any desired path upon the board vas the machinel moves the iron lengthwise thereof. Y

In order however.` provide for antomatically advancing the` iron `across the board there is provided in both the forward and rear sides oi the slots 53`in the traveling head a series of teeth 61 having-their lett hand sides 62 straight, that is at right angles to the length off the slot and with the' right hand sides 63 Vof the teeth on a slant of an appreciable angle. The teeth on opposite sides of the slot `are in staggered position. As the traveling head() moves tothe right the weightand resist-ance oft the iron 1at the outer or forward end of the lazy-tongs will cause the finger to engage the rear side of slot 53 and travel down the slanting side 63 of one of the teeth until the straight side 6910i the tooth next to the right is reached. As

the head 30 starts -its movement to the lett the weight and reslstance oit the smoothing iron will swing the lazy-tongs on pin 65 enough so that iinger 52 will be moved to .the 'front` side ot the slot 523 and said linger will slide down the slanting side G3 of the tooth opposite the straightside 62 ol the rear tooth. Each of these movements will extend the lazy-tongs slightly and carry the iron a short distance farther front at the beginning of each motion of the iron. The straight side G2 of the succeeding tooth however, will in veach case prevent further extension ofthe lazy-tongs. As the next' movementto the right by the head 30 begins,` the finger 52will moved to theslanting; sifdefot the tooth next tothe right ot the onetheretofore engaged by the linger at the rear'o't the slot and the linger will move a slight distancelto'the right :as before described. Successive movements 'oli' the head` will thus move the iron farther front step by step. y p This automatic crosswise movement of the iron however7 may be readily overcome by the operato-nl pushing or-pulli1ig` the iron a litt-le so as `to disengage the linger 52 from the teeth'Gl` whereupon. the said finger may slide `treely lengthwise off the slot 53 and allow thelazy-tongs tofbe extended orfcontracted! if desired. It will be noted particularly thatl theliron may be :at any time easily shoved rearwardly as liar as desired `even to the position to the rearollr the board since in so contracting the lazy-tongs the `finger 52 simplyrides bythe teethon either side ofthe slot 53. Such rearward ino-vement of tlre iron allows for removing the ironed article and placing another article on the board when the machine will again advance the iron acrossv the board. y i z Ordinarily the machine will have itsdrive wheel operated by 'an electric motor 64 which will be vstarted or stopped by a rheostat pedal 65 which can bemoved to several positions in the usual well-known manner to obtain different speeds of the motor and so control Tat 'will the speed of the traveling of head B0 and the smoothing iron.

VVhat AI claiml as new and by Letters 'Patent is :l

l. In an ironing machine the combination of an ironing board, a head spaced from said board and movable back and forthparallel thereto7 a smoothingiron and means extending from said traveling head and carrying said iron over the board and imparting the motion of said head to the iron the saidiron-carryng means being adjustable in length during operation of. the machine whereby the iron may be made to travel lengthwise oft the board in any posi` tion crosswise of the board, and means automatically adjusting said carrying means to successively 'carry the iron at diii'erent positions crosswi'sie of the board.

2. Iir'an ironing machine thecombination of an ironing board, ahead spaced from said board and movable back and Yforth parallel thereto, a smoothing iron and means including a lazy tongs extending from said traveling head and carrying 'said iron over the desire to secure i ou board and imparting the motion 'oit said T35 head jto the iron, the said iron-carrying means being adjustable in length during operation of the machine whereby the iron may be made to travel lengthwise of the board in any position cross'wise of the board1 Cil and'nieans automatically adjusting said lazy tongs to successively cari'y the iron at different positions crosswise of the board.

In an ironing machine the combination of an ironing board; a head spaced therefrom and movable back and forth parallel thereto, a smoothing iron and a lazy ltongs mounted on said traveling head and supporting said iron over the board and imparting the motion of said head to said iron and means including a step by step escapement device for automatically adjusting said lazy tongs to successive positions.

4. In an ironing machine the combination of an ironing board, a head spaced therefrom and movable back and forth parallel thereto, a smoothing iron and a lazy tongs mounted on said traveling head and supporting said iron over the board` and imparting the motion of said head to said iron, and means including two oppositely arranged spaced raclrs engaging the movable arm of the lazy tongs for automatically adjusting the lazy tongs to successive positions.

5. In an ironing machine, the combination of an ironing board, a head spaced therefrom and movable back and forth parallel thereto, a smoothing iron and a. lazy tongs mounted on said traveling head and supporting said iron over the board and imparting the motion of said head to said iron, and means including two oppositely arranged spaced racls having one face of each tooth slanting, the teeth on said racks being in a staggered position, whereby back and forth movement of the head automatically adjusts said lazy tongs to successive positions.

6. In an ironing machine, the combination of an ironing board a head spaced therefrom and movable back and Qrth parallel thereto, a smoothing iron and a lazy tongs mounted on said traveling head and supporting said iron over t-he board and. imparting the motion of said head to said iron- .and means including two oppositely arranged spaced racks having one face of each tooth slanting to the same end of 'the racks, the teeth on said racks being in a staggered position, whereby back and forth movementof the head automatically adjusts said lazy tongs to successive positions.

7. In an ironingmachine the combination of au ironing board, a head spaced therefrom and movable back and forth parallel thereto, a smoothing iron and a lazytongs mounted on said traveling head and supporting said iron over the board and imparting the motion of said head to said iron and means for automatically adjusting said lazy-tongs to successive positions.

8. In an ironing machine, the combination of an ironing board, a frame having vertical guides, a rocker arm having its upper end pivotedto said frame above the guides7 means for imparting a swinging motion to said rocker arm, a pair of parallel supporting bars pivotally supported midway their length by the lower end of said rocker arm and slidingly mounted at their lower ends upon said guides, a head horizontally supported by the upper ends of said parallel bars and moved thereby parallel to the ironing board and a smoothincr iron carried by said head over and longitudinally of the ironing board.

9. In an ironing machine, they combination of an ironing board, a frame having vertical guides, a rocker arm having its upper end pivoted to said frame above the guides, means for imparting a swinging motion of adjustable extent to said rocker arm, a'pair of parallel supporting bars pivotally supported midway their length by the lower end of saidl rocker arm and slidingly mounted at their lower ends upon said guides, a head horizontally supported by the upper ends of said parallel bars and moved thereby parallel to the ironing board, and a smoothing iron carried by said head over and longitudinally of the ironing board.

10. In an ironing machine, the combination of an ironing board, a frame having vertical guides, a rocker arm` having its upper end pivoted to said frame above the guides, means for imparting a swinging motion to said rocker arm, a pair of parallel supporting bars pivotally supported midway their length by the lower end of said rocker arm and slidingly mounted at their lower ends upon said guides, a head horizontally supported by the upper ends of said parallel bars and moved thereby parallel to the ironingr board, a smoothing iron carried by said head over and longitudinally of the ironing board and means for adjusting during operation of the machine the extent of motion of said rocking arm whereby the extent of travel of the iron is also effected.

l1. In an ironing Ina-chine the combination of an ironing board, a head spaced therefrom and movable back and forth parallel thereto, a smoothing iron and a lazytongs mounted on said traveling head and supporting said iron over the board and imparting the motion of said head to said iron and means including a toothed 'slot in said head engaging the movable arm o't' the lazy-tongs for automatically adjusting said lazy-tongs to successive positions.

12. In an ironing machine, the combination of an ironing board, a frame having vertical guides, a rocker arm having its upper end pivoted to said tramev above said guides, a cross head slidingly mounted on said rocker arm, a pair of parallel'supporting bars pivotally supported midway their length by the lower end of said rocker arm and slidingly mounted at their lower ends upon said guide bars, a head horizontally supported by the upper ends of said parallel bars and moved thereby parallel to the ironing board, a smoothing iron carried by said head over and longitudinally of the ironing board, means connected to said cross head for imparting a uniform swinging motion to said Cross head and means for adjusting said cross head to various positions on said rocker arm whereby the extent of swinging motion imparted to the parallel bars and smoothing iron may be varied.

13. In an ironing machine, the eombina tion of an ironing board, a vframe having vertical guides, a rocker arm having its upper end pivoted to said frame above said guides, a cross head slidingly mounted on said rocker arm, a pair of parallel support ing bars pivotally supported midway their length by the lower end of said rocker arm and slidingly mounted at their lower ends upon said guide bars, a head horizontally supported by the upper ends oi said parallel bars and moved thereby parallel to the ironing board, a smoothing iron Carried by said head over and longitudinally of the ironing board, a cross head slidngly mounted on said vertical guides, a Control arm pivotally attached at its lower end to the cross head on the rocker arm and at its upper end to cross head on the vertical guides and means for adjusting said `cross head on the guides to various positions thereon, whereby the extent of swinging motion imparted to the parallel bars and smoothing iron may be varied.

In witness whereof I have allixed my signature, this 18th day of April 1922.

MONTGOMERY H. JOHNSON. 

